Jonathan Hayes

Louis Monin works in Investment at Julius Baer, based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. He has shared Julius Baer content relating to the firm's 2023 half-year results and its recognition as a leading private banking brand in the Middle East by Professional Wealth Management and The Banker.

Monin holds certifications in the Oxford Blockchain Strategy Programme from Saïd Business School, University of Oxford (July 2024), covering blockchain strategies, smart contracts, cryptocurrencies, and decentralised applications. He also holds a Finance Trading Programme certificate from TTC Institute (May 2021), Bloomberg Market Concepts certification from Bloomberg LP (December 2020), and a Python for Financial Markets certificate from TTC Institute (December 2020). He is bilingual in English and French, with limited working proficiency in Spanish and elementary proficiency in Chinese.

Manuel Villegas Franceschi is Director – Digital Assets & Next Generation Research Analyst at Julius Baer, based in Zurich, Switzerland. In this role, he works across the Next Generation Research and Digital Assets Development teams. His specific area of focus within digital assets is Decentralized Finance, with particular interest in liquidity pooling and lending.

Villegas Franceschi first became involved with digital assets in late 2015. Prior to his current role, he worked in traditional finance across Switzerland, the United States, and Venezuela. He holds a master's degree in Management and Economics from the University of Zurich and a postgraduate degree in Financial Engineering from the Universidad Metropolitana. He is also pursuing further education at IMD Business School in Lausanne.

Michael Helbling is Digital Assets Expert at Julius Baer, a role he has held since August 2021, operating at Executive Director level with a focus on Digital Assets Development.

Prior to joining Julius Baer, Helbling spent over a decade at Falcon Private Bank, where he held a series of progressively senior positions. He began as a Relationship Manager in Private Banking Western Europe from 2009 to 2015, before moving into client-facing management as Head of Direct Clients and External Asset Managers. From mid-2018, he led the Crypto Desk covering direct clients and external asset managers, and subsequently became Co-Head Digital Assets — a position he held until his departure in January 2020. His entry into financial services came through AIG Private Bank, where he worked as an Assistant in Private Banking Western Europe from 2006 to 2009. Helbling holds an MSc in Digital Currencies and Blockchain Technologies from the University of Nicosia, completed between 2018 and 2019 with a GPA of 3.444.

Nicole Sopko is Head PB Compliance Digital Assets PEP Competence Center Institutional Clients at Julius Baer, based in Zurich. She has held this position since July 2025 and carries the title of Executive Director. Her mandate sits within the Finance & Accounting department and covers private banking compliance across digital assets, politically exposed persons (PEP) oversight, and institutional clients.

Her skills profile includes AML compliance, financial crime, digital compliance, digital assets, and private banking, alongside executive leadership and relationship management. She holds a certification in Corporate Sustainability from Università Bocconi via Coursera, issued January 2022, and a Creative Problem Solving certification from the University of Minnesota via Coursera, issued August 2021.